Raise minimum wage to meet workers' needs

11:22 AM,
Oct. 7, 2013

FILE - In this Aug. 1, 2013, file photo, a 'Now Hiring' sign hangs in front of a new McDonald's restaurant under construction in Tempe, Ariz. A gauge of the U.S. economy's health posted a solid gain in August in a sign of stronger growth in coming months. AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

Written by

Fran Quigley

Setting a minimum wage will be a disaster, the National Association of Manufacturers thundered in 1938. Guaranteeing that all workers be paid 25 cents an hour would be "a step in the direction of Communism, bolshevism, fascism, and Nazism." Corporation-funded associations and think tanks have produced a steady flow of Chicken Little minimum wage opposition ever since.

History and data undercut those arguments. The Center for Economic and Policy Research recently compiled the results of scores of studies conducted about the minimum wage, with the weight of the evidence showing that ...